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Sunday, July 6, 2014

10 Ways to Use Hops Other than in Beer! + MeatlessMonday

Hop flowers are typically used in beer thanks to their antibacterial properties that help prevent spoilage, as well as for their ability to balance the sweetness of malt. They tend to have a bitter flavour, although there are dozens of varieties of hops with different flavours.

But a couple of weeks ago I mentioned in a post that I had received some beautiful hop flowers from one of the vendors at the local farmers market. Since I won't be brewing any time soon (although I do intend to try my hand at gluten free beer brewing this fall, so stick around for that!), I've been searching around online trying to figure out what one does with hops, other than making beer, of course. (Yes, that is a beer in the background of the picture, but I didn't make it)

I've come up with a list of suggestions for ways to use hops and thought I'd share them with you. Some of you might just find hops at your local market, too, and want to give them a try. Or perhaps you've decided to brew as well and have a surplus of hop flowers.

They can make beautiful garnishes as well, so it's worth picking up a handful if you see them!

What can you use hops for?

Hop flowers can be used as both food, or for non-culinary things, like tea, pillows, soaps, and more, because of their scent. I've listed both below, starting with the culinary uses. Some of these are links to websites with recipes I have not tried, but that look worth checking out. Not all the recipes are gluten free, but I included them to help spark my own imagination, and hopefully yours, also!

* And an FYI - hops are generally green, and spiky. As it turns out, I was given a handful of purple clover mixed in with my hops and which I used for the photos (thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing that out, as I didn't know if they all looked the same or not!).

What do hops taste like?

I am less familiar with the varieties of hops, and have no idea what kind it was that was given to me at the market, but it's worth looking into more as each variety has a different scent and flavour.

They've been described in a variety of ways ranging from "grassy" to "citrus" to "peach or pear" or "piney" and so on and so forth. Rest assured, though, they do range in bitterness. Mine were not terribly bitter, but I wouldn't pop a whole handful in my mouth at once. A light touch is key.

Cooked hops are more bitter than raw. In beer making, the length of the cooking time increases the bitterness of beer. The longer the cooking, the more bitter the beer.

The bitterness is why, it seems, that some people on various forums don't recommend using hops in baked goods. The bitterness increases with baking time, so hop muffins probably aren't on my agenda any time soon. But who knows, a mild flavoured variety could work well.

8 Culinary Ways to Use Hops Other Than in Beer

1. Hop
flowers as salad garnish. I made a salad (like the one shown above) garnished with hop
flowers. Mixed lettuce, cashews, roasted baby beets, and hop flowers = simple.
I drizzled it with the Sorghum and Citrus Dressing I had made for
beet greens. The sweetness of the sorghum syrup balances the bitterness of the
hops.

7. For making hops yeast (for
those who are allergic to brewer’s yeast). This is apparently an old tradition.
and very interesting.

8.
Hops tea - hops steeped in hot water is said to be helpful for anxiety and
sleeplessness. The *warning here is
that the dosages appear to be unclear. Although from what I can gather hops are
generally safe for occasional use, I have also seen warnings that they can in
some cases increase symptoms, and that pregnant women should avoid them because
of hops' estrogen levels.

Also, since all of these recipes are meat-free, I'm including this as a Meatless Monday post :)

2 Non-Culinary Uses for Hops

9. Dried hops flowers in pillows are an old folk remedy for sleeplessness (and likely to cause less adverse reactions than hops tea)

3 comments:

(test) I made tea hot enough right out of the water cooler it was pleasant (I like bitter IPA / double IPA) Out of Summit hops with high Alpha acid (18.1%) (Beta 5.8)

I noticed the hop tea had a salty after taste that was very nice Since the hops still had flavor left I added more hot water (and another batch another) The flavor dropped still bitter , but thin (like no body if you drank a wine with a flavor that didn't Linger ), but even so a pleasant salty taste quicker to develop.

Note I also made another batch but this time I boiled for a long time for tea at least It had a caramelized flavor to it Subtle , but I liked the tea better with just adding water from the water cooler , and steeping.

Hope this Goes through

Another note they say hops spoil quickly I do not brew yet, but do vint wine for many yearsalso experiment with Things considered non edible (Mini pea size crab apples for instance dry well turning sweet, and also fresh after freezing easily make a great tea (Siberian white crab apple are small/sour like that, but haven't tried those)

I have to make this clear the tea that was boiled for long I am drinking , and it has too much of caramelized flavor for me

what is interesting is making the tea from the water cooler, and chewing the (summit )hops they are so spicy, with a lot of added flavor still after every batch until boiled for a long time--- Could be good in chili after it's use that way if you like bitter tea's (or the tea's good if you quit drinking, and still like IPA)

also store these frozen they may spoil after openingBy the way I have read people using the pellets for experimenting adding a gram or two to cheap beer , and re bottling for a few days (or a high quality Blond Ale)

This can give em a idea of blending different hopsin each beer in a 24 (30) pack Of Coolers or what ever.

Thanks for all that info! Really interesting stuff, and that tip about drying crab apples is great. My in-laws have an enormous tree and every year I make crabapple jelly, but there's still more apples than we know what to do with! Maybe this year we'll try drying them for something.

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About Poor and Gluten Free

P & GF is about me, Danielle, and my allergy-free adventures, writing romance novels, and traveling from BC to random places like Wisconsin, Italy and Winnipeg. Most of the stuff you'll find here is free of gluten, soy, nuts and sugar, with egg and dairy free options.

Find out more about me in the About P&GF tab! Questions? I'd love to hear from you. Email me: bellyopudge AT gmail DOT com

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